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Posted by: Elder Berry ( )
Date: October 24, 2014 02:46PM

The link to “FINISHERS WANTED” was on a missionary blog I read. So I clicked the link and read it.

For some reason it made me think of Tom Phillips and his desire to read and understand what he could to be a more effective mission president.

"As we arose from our knees in the quiet of my office, the missionary began to weep almost uncontrollably. Flexing the muscle in his strong right arm, he blurted out, “This is my problem. All through school my muscle power qualified me for honors in football and track, but my mental power was neglected. President Monson, I’m ashamed of my school record. It reveals that ‘with effort’ I have the capacity to read at but the level of the fourth grade. I can’t even read the Book of Mormon. How then can I understand its contents and teach others its truths?”

The silence of the room was broken by my young nine-year-old son who, without knocking, opened the door and, with surprise, apologetically said, “Excuse me. I just wanted to put this book back on the shelf.” He handed me the book. Its title: A Child’s Story of the Book of Mormon, by Dr. Deta Petersen Neeley. I turned to the author’s preface and read that this book was written with a scientifically controlled vocabulary to the level of the fourth grade. A sincere prayer from an honest heart had been dramatically answered.

My missionary accepted the challenge to read the book. Half laughing, half crying, he declared: “It will be good to read something I can understand.” Clouds of despair were dispelled by the sunshine of hope. He completed an honorable mission. He became a finisher."
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/06/finishers-wanted?lang=eng

"Seventeen months later, in October 2003, I was studying in preparation for serving a full-time mission with my wife. Since June 2001 I had been told by General Authorities of the Church that, when I was ready to submit my mission papers, they would recommend me as a mission president.

I decided there was one question regarding the Book of Mormon I had answered many times before but I doubted anyone with a good scientific background would accept such an answer. As I considered God would not prevent someone joining his one true church simply because they had a better scientific education and understanding ('the glory of God is intelligence'), I studied to find an acceptable answer which I assumed would be to demonstrate the flaws in the scientific hypothesis. I wanted this answer for myself to teach others and for my missionaries if I were called as a mission president. NOT FOR ONE MINUTE, at that time, did I think the church was false. I KNEW, beyond any shadow of doubt, it was true. I just needed to know what was wrong with the currently held scientific views. After studying the specific scientific methodology, to my amazement, it stood up. These were not simply hypotheses and theories of scientists but demonstrable FACTS. I believed God to be the 'Master Scientist' how else can He be the creator of all things. Therefore, true science cannot be in conflict with His revealed word.

This led me to consider in more depth other truth claims of the church and discuss them with 2 general authorities and consult 2 Brigham Young University professors. CONCLUSION - THE CHURCH WAS NOT TRUE, I HAD ALLOWED MYSELF TO BE DECEIVED."
http://mormonthink.com/tomphillips.htm

Obviously the finishers they want aren't the kind to think on their own and find out things about their truth from demonstrable FACTS.

By the way, I found advertizments for some stuff by Dr. Deta Petersen Neeley here.

"With a sagacity that was unusual for the sex, she [Ann Young] helped to plan the family budget and to formulate the method of the family activities."
http://www.mocavo.com/The-Improvement-Era-1957-Volume-60-2/568410/20

Wow! The tradition of sexism is continuing strong in LDS Incorporated!

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